The first installment in the Far Star series, a swashbuckling space saga that introduces the daring pirate Blackhawk and the loyal crew of the Wolf’s Claw, from Jay Allan, the author of the bestselling Crimson Worlds saga.

Smuggler and mercenary Arkarin Blackhawk and the crew of the ship Wolf’s Claw are freelance adventurers who live on the fringe of human society in the Far Stars. A veteran fighter as deadly with a blade as he is with a gun, Blackhawk is a man haunted by a dark past. Even his cynicism cannot banish the guilt and pain that threaten his sanity.

Sent to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his longtime friend Marshal Augustin Lucerne, Blackhawk and his crew find themselves drawn into one deadly fight after another. When the Wolf’s Claw is damaged, they are forced to land on a remote planet subsumed by civil war. Pulled unwittingly into the conflict, they uncover disturbing information about secret imperial involvement that could upset the plans of Lucerne.

For the Marshal is determined to forge a Far Stars Confederation powerful enough to eliminate all imperial influence and threats in the sector. He needs a skilled warrior like Blackhawk on his side, but the mercenary, plagued by dark memories from the past, refuses to join the cause. All too soon, though, he and his crew will have to take a stand.

Audible book Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $12.99 when you buy the Kindle book.

"Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress"
Is the world really falling apart? Is the ideal of progress obsolete? Cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, and instead, follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise. Learn more

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jay Allan is a former investor and the author of the Crimson Worlds series and the first two books in the Far Stars series, Shadow of Empire and Enemy in the Dark. When not writing, he enjoys traveling, running, hiking, and reading. He loves hearing from readers and always answers e-mails. He currently lives in New York City.

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Characters seem to be developed, I'm just on chapter 4 and reading slowly since I just finished the first book in the series. And like most of the Kindle authors that going back over the previous material is a little annoying for me. Backstory for my taste should end after the first chapter and the rest of the book new material. Sad but like the rest of the reading sheep I am hooked so settle for the meal provided rather than holding out for what I really want. Price going up so may have to change favorite authors to read going forward, because price is an issue when one reads a lot and is on fixed income like myself. Even Amazon prime doesn't seem to be able to keep the costs down.

I read a previous book titled, “Blackhawk (Far Stars Legends)” by Jay Allan and liked what I read. He introduced the character Arkarin Blackhawk in that first book and he was a pretty tough dude with some kind of strange background. Apparently, he’s done some jobs in the past that he’s definitely not proud of and wants to forget. In the “Legends” book, I think he was kind of drifting along going no where when he befriended a guy that was trying to win a war. Anyway, Blackhawk took his side and command his army to victory. At least that’s how I remember it.

Now, we’re back with Arkarin Blackhawk and he’s immediately in big trouble. Seems like he was on a mission to rescue the daughter of a very close friend. He’s kind of accomplished that since the daughter, Astra Lucerne of Celtiboria, is aboard the Wolf’s Claw and ready to be transported back to her father, Marshal Augustin Lucerne. Marshal Lucerne was engaged in a planet-wide battle to control Celtiboria. He wanted to dispense with all the Warlords fighting over everything on Celtiboria and consolidate the planet under one government. He was just about to finish off the last Warlord when his only daughter was kidnapped. He sent his only really trusted friend, Arkarin Blackhawk, to attempt to return his daughter. He didn’t really think Blackhawk had much of a chance, but he knew that no one else stood any chance of finding and returning his daughter.

So, the Wolf’s Claw and it’s crew set out for the planet Kalishar where they believed, rightly, that Astra Lucerne was located. The only problem right now is that Blackhawk has ordered his ship and crew to immediately take Astra back to her father even though he has been captured and is now facing death in the pit. Little does he know that his crew of loyal misfits have ignored his orders and are bringing the Wolf’s Claw directly to the pit area intent on rescuing their Captain. His crew is comprised of various unordinary people that have been saved from some terrible ordeals at one time or another by Blackhawk. He’s the Captain of the Wolf’s Claw and his crew isn’t about to leave Kalishar without their Captain.

As you can see, the book starts off pretty exciting and gets better from that point on. We get to meet each one of his crew and find out the backstory on how they came to be with Blackhawk. They have multiple talents and have formed a great team aboard the Wolf’s Claw, but they have a tendency to ignore Blackhawks orders if Blackhawk is in any kind of danger. In this latest rescue of Blackhawk, the Wolf’s Claw gets damaged and they wind up stranded on a planet in the middle of a Civil War. They only need to steal a jump drive core from the only Imperial Star Ship on the planet to get back into space and back to Celtiboria. Should be a simple operation of the crew of the Wolf’s Claw!

It appears that book two, “Enemy in the Dark” and book three, “Funeral Games” are already on Amazon so I’ve got some great reading ahead of me.

Space opera with some good writing. I understand this is a spinoff of an earlier series by same author. It is a straight space opera with Ark the captain of a tramp ship looking for the kidnapped daughter of a friend. I kind of like rusty heros with mysterious back stories, but here the character lacks any finesse. The action scenes are nicely written, but the rest of the book is heavy handed. Much time is spent on summaries of back stories of the crew with strong stress on their mindless loyalty to Ark the captain. It comes across amateurish. More time spent on plotting would have helped tremendously.

If you're looking for something new, this isn't it. It's a well crafted story but it's nothing new. Genetically enhanced leader Ark Blackhawk and his crew on the ship Wolf's Claw are on a rescue mission and just happen to get involved in a planetary revolution of nobles vs. peasants with an evil Empire funding the peasants... The crew of the Wolf's Claw is super loyal to their leader who loathes himself because of mysterious horrible past deeds that are alluded to but not actually described. I could go on.... But I won't.

I loved the world Allan built in Shadow of Empire. It's simple and very pulpy, but manages to maintain a rich texture and high level of engagement. The characters are similarly swashbuckling star-hoppers out of the sci-fi mags of yesteryear as they're remembered, NOT as they're written. It's like he reached into my imagination and withdrew a direct line on my love of the fun side of the genre to write the book.

Loved this book. The story line is good, character development is drawn out but I don't mind that, at all. If I have any criticism is that, although, Blackhawk is himself flawed, everyone else on his crew is too conveniently perfect. For me, anyway, that's something I thought about each time Tarkus and Katarina had a role. It didn't detract from reading, a page turner. Absolutely.

The story of a heroic rogue and his completely loyal bunch of misfits while they save all that is good. This is a great page turner, and only the princess grated on me. Impossible odds, escapes, large scale battles, and truly evil enemies. Our hero's only flaws are, he cares too much for his crew (who promptly ignore his orders to save themselves), and he did bad things once before he broke some form of mind control, so he obsesses about that, fatalistic, but with an infinite will to survive.

An excellent sci-fi story, introducing wonderful characters and original story lines. It could be called swashbucking and well fleshed out. I received this book for free and thank the author. I will now purchase the next book in the series.